{"id":364285,"date":"2025-02-03T08:31:37","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T07:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=364285"},"modified":"2025-02-03T08:31:39","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T07:31:39","slug":"revolving-door-bidens-ocean-energy-chief-went-to-work-for-major-offshore-wind-company-after-admin-boosted-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=364285","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Revolving Door\u2019: Biden\u2019s Ocean Energy Chief Went to Work for Major Offshore Wind Company After Admin Boosted Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Daily Caller<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Nick Pope<\/strong><\/a>
Contributor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amanda Lefton, the former director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), went to work for a major offshore wind company after the agency boosted the industry and worked to limit offshore fossil fuel development on her watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lefton spearheaded the Biden administration\u2019s effort<\/a> to build out 30 gigawatts of offshore wind<\/a> capacity along America\u2019s coasts by 2030 in her capacity as the leader of BOEM, playing a key role in the administration\u2019s all-of-government offshore wind push from February 2021 to February 2023, according<\/a> to her LinkedIn profile. She then went<\/a> to work on green energy-related issues for Foley Hoag LLC<\/a> \u2014 a major D.C. law firm \u2014 for approximately six months and then joined RWE, a major player in the offshore wind space, as the head of development for the east coast in July 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is hardly surprising given the incestuous relations between the Biden BOEM and the wind industry. On Ms. Lefton\u2019s watch the agency helped rush the so-far disastrous Vineyard Wind project through. BOEM even waived the financial assurance requirements intended to protect the taxpayers from the costs of decommissioning the project when complete (while, in the Gulf, it was modifying those same requirements in an attempt to drive small oil and gas companies out of business),\u201d Michael Chamberlain, director of Protect the Public\u2019s Trust, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. \u201cFormer Deputy Secretary of the Interior Tommy Beaudreau, her boss during most of her tenure at BOEM, had previously represented Vineyard Wind. This revolving door has been spinning everywhere the Biden administration and the climate sector meet. The players remain the same, the only thing that changes is who signs the paychecks.\u201d (RELATED: Revolving Door: It Took CNN Less Than 48 Hours To Hire Comey\u2019s Assistant)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Dem Senator Who Decried \u2018Revolving Door\u2019 Poses With Lobbyists Who Donated To Her Campaignhttps:\/\/t.co\/ZuJkFb601w<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 10, 2024<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

RWE is headquartered in Germany, but it has offices in New York City and other American cities. The company became<\/a> the largest offshore wind leaseholder in the New York Bight lease area in 2022, the same year it won a lease for floating offshore wind development off the coast of Northern California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRWE abides by all conflict-of-interest laws and regulations,\u201d a RWE spokesperson told the DCNF when reached for comment on behalf of Lefton. The company did not address questions about Lefton\u2019s compensation or whether her intimate knowledge of BOEM played any role in the firm\u2019s decision to hire her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sam Eaton, the CEO of RWE Offshore Holdings, praised Lefton\u2019s \u201cknow-how navigating all levels of government\u201d that helped lead to approvals for two major offshore wind farms in her tenure at BOEM in a statement<\/a> addressing her hiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Chamberlain noted in his statement, Lefton ran BOEM when the agency greenlit<\/a> the massive Vineyard Wind development off the coast of Nantucket in May 2021. Lefton said at the time that the Vineyard Wind approval \u201crepresents the power of a government-wide approach to offshore wind permitting, taking stakeholder ideas and concerns into consideration every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Vineyard Wind later became the subject of controversy when one of the development\u2019s turbine blades malfunctioned, fractured and fell<\/a> into the Atlantic. The resulting debris<\/a> floated its way to nearby beaches, forcing their closure as workers cleared the pollution and enraging locals<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, BOEM finalized<\/a> the most restrictive five-year schedule for oil and gas leasing in modern U.S history in December 2023. While Lefton was no longer running the agency at that point in time, BOEM published the schedule approximately 500 days late<\/a>, meaning that the agency was dragging its feet on the oil and gas leasing schedule while Lefton was in charge of BOEM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lefton is also an on-the-record opponent of the continued long-term use of fossil fuels, telling E&E News<\/a> in May 2022 that \u201cwe have to transition to clean renewable energy in order to fight climate change\u201d and that she favors policies like incorporating climate costs into oil and gas leasing analyses and making use of the social cost of carbon metric. The outlet later reported<\/a> on Jan. 24 that Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering nominating Lefton to run the state\u2019s Department of Environmental Conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter\u2019s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amanda Lefton, the former director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), went to work for a major offshore wind company after the agency boosted the industry and worked to limit offshore fossil fuel development on her watch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":364290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691833000,691818336,691820979,691818118,691831235],"class_list":{"0":"post-364285","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-amanda-lefton","9":"tag-biden-administration","10":"tag-bureau-of-ocean-energy-management-boem","11":"tag-green-energy","12":"tag-offshore-wind-osw","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0AmandaLeftonTOP.jpg?fit=1200%2C630&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1wLz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":372954,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=372954","url_meta":{"origin":364285,"position":0},"title":"Beach Town Poised to Use Green Left\u2019s Favorite Legal Strategy Against Massive Offshore Wind Project","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"31\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The town of Nantucket, Massachusetts looks set to use one of the green left\u2019s go-to legal strategies against a massive offshore wind farm supported by liberal environmentalists.","rel":"","context":"In \"Biden Administration\"","block_context":{"text":"Biden Administration","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=biden-administration"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/02L3HNWEQAJOBFDCNIPGJJIW32U.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/02L3HNWEQAJOBFDCNIPGJJIW32U.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/02L3HNWEQAJOBFDCNIPGJJIW32U.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/02L3HNWEQAJOBFDCNIPGJJIW32U.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/02L3HNWEQAJOBFDCNIPGJJIW32U.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":242837,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=242837","url_meta":{"origin":364285,"position":1},"title":"Biden Administration throws lobstermen under the bus","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/02\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is trying to extricate itself from a dilemma placed squarely in its lap by the Biden Administration.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image-69.png?fit=1197%2C513&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image-69.png?fit=1197%2C513&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image-69.png?fit=1197%2C513&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image-69.png?fit=1197%2C513&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/image-69.png?fit=1197%2C513&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":349117,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=349117","url_meta":{"origin":364285,"position":2},"title":"BOEM Finally Acknowledges the Harm Caused by Offshore Wind Farms","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"27\/10\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In a surprising yet overdue move, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has released its Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the New York Bight. This document, despite its extensive layers of technical jargon and cautious language, marks a pivotal shift. It appears to be a rare admission\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Biological Impacts\"","block_context":{"text":"Biological Impacts","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=biological-impacts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0attachment-wind-whale.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0attachment-wind-whale.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0attachment-wind-whale.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0attachment-wind-whale.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/0attachment-wind-whale.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":340326,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=340326","url_meta":{"origin":364285,"position":3},"title":"U.S. Offshore Wind: The Struggle Continues","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/08\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This post updates the financial troubles of Denmark\u2019s \u00d8rsted, recent BOEM auctions, and pushback against Maryland governor Wes Moore. Today, operational offshore wind capacity is less than 50 megawatts versus the Biden-Harris Administration goal of 30,000 MW by 2030.","rel":"","context":"In \"Biden-Harris Administration\"","block_context":{"text":"Biden-Harris Administration","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=biden-harris-administration"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0offshore-wind-farm-anholt-denmark-orsted.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0offshore-wind-farm-anholt-denmark-orsted.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0offshore-wind-farm-anholt-denmark-orsted.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0offshore-wind-farm-anholt-denmark-orsted.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0offshore-wind-farm-anholt-denmark-orsted.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":335346,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=335346","url_meta":{"origin":364285,"position":4},"title":"Feds say \u201cdamn the whales\u201d in the Gulf of Maine","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/07\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Biden\u2019s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes to build a huge amount of floating offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine. As required by law, it has published for public comment a draft Environmental Assessment of the area designated for this monster project. But insanely, there is no assessment\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)\"","block_context":{"text":"Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bureau-of-ocean-energy-management-boem"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0North-Atlantic-right-whale-with-calf.-%C2%A9-Brian-J.-Skerry-_-National-Geographic-Stock-_-WWF-scaled-e1596552052698-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0North-Atlantic-right-whale-with-calf.-%C2%A9-Brian-J.-Skerry-_-National-Geographic-Stock-_-WWF-scaled-e1596552052698-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0North-Atlantic-right-whale-with-calf.-%C2%A9-Brian-J.-Skerry-_-National-Geographic-Stock-_-WWF-scaled-e1596552052698-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0North-Atlantic-right-whale-with-calf.-%C2%A9-Brian-J.-Skerry-_-National-Geographic-Stock-_-WWF-scaled-e1596552052698-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0North-Atlantic-right-whale-with-calf.-%C2%A9-Brian-J.-Skerry-_-National-Geographic-Stock-_-WWF-scaled-e1596552052698-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":375471,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=375471","url_meta":{"origin":364285,"position":5},"title":"Offshore Wind: GAO Report Reveals the Fallout of Biden\u2019s Green Industrial Gamble","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"17\/04\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Government Accountability Office (GAO) just issued a comprehensive review of the Department of the Interior\u2019s offshore wind energy program. Titled\u00a0\u201cOffshore Wind Energy: Actions Needed to Address Gaps in Interior\u2019s Oversight of Development\u201d (GAO-25-106998), the report provides a postmortem of sorts on a policy agenda that\u2014until recently\u2014was speeding ahead under\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Biden Administration\"","block_context":{"text":"Biden Administration","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=biden-administration"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Kaskasi_Interview_8_2022-68-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Kaskasi_Interview_8_2022-68-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Kaskasi_Interview_8_2022-68-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Kaskasi_Interview_8_2022-68-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Kaskasi_Interview_8_2022-68-scaled-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=364285"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":364291,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364285\/revisions\/364291"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/364290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=364285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=364285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=364285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}